


The Master of Electricity

by 0positiv



Category: Sanctuary (TV), Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-07 05:05:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10352793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0positiv/pseuds/0positiv
Summary: "Mr. Tesla, my name is Garcia Flynn and I would like to ask you a few questions..."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, if the time travel show chooses not to bring up Tesla I thought I will just have to do it myself ;)  
> And really it couldn't be any other version of Tesla but the one on Sanctuary, played by Jonathon Young. (No, I did not just want an excuse to have Goran Višnjić and J-Yo in the same imaginary room, what are you talking about? *shifty look*)  
> As in most crossovers it would be immensely helpful if you know both shows.  
> Also here there be spoilers I guess, very minor ones for Sanctuary, slightly less minor ones for Timeless so be warned.

“Flynn took out the Mothership again.”

Rufus hid a big yawn behind the hand that wasn't holding a gigantic coffee cup then rubbed his tired eyes. Around him the base was as busy as a bee hive, everyone talking over everyone else as they hurried to get the Lifeboat ready. He didn't quite understand how all of them could be this _active_ at such an hour.

“What, because he apparently doesn't need any sleep we can't get any either? It's”, he held his watch up to his eyes, “2 am, for God's sake. What's the use of having a time machine if we can't even sleep in for once?”

Even though Lucy heartily agreed with Rufus she didn't think complaining would make it any better. She did envy him that coffee, though. She'd have to see if she couldn't get a cup of her own before they took off. But there were marginally more important issues first.

“Where did Flynn go to, and when?”, she asked with a look at Mason and Christopher. That they both looked about as tired and rumpled as she felt lifted her mood slightly.

Wyatt on the other hand just watched it all stoically, he didn't even look tired. Lucy wondered if they should check he wasn't taking any stimulating drugs. No one should be that alert at 2 am.

Mason pointed at the computer.

“March 12th, 1895, New York, somewhere in this 50 mile radius.”

“That's basically all of New York city”, Wyatt remarked in an unimpressed voice. “Finding one man in New York is only slightly harder than finding a needle in the proverbial hay stack.”

They all stared at the map and tried to remember anything of historical significance that might have happened on that date or in New York.

“Maybe if we first concentrate on the centre of the area? Shouldn't that be where the energy signature or whatever you're tracking is strongest?”

Jiya looked at Lucy and shrugged. “That's simplifying it a lot but it's worth a try.”

She zoomed in on the centre of the circle on the map until street names became visible.

Finally Rufus stood up straighter, one could nearly see the light bulb going on over his head.

“Wait, 1895, you said? Fifth Avenue is inside our radius, actually just about dead centre...well, I don't know if that's why Flynn's there but it would sure be why I'd go there, and then.”

Rufus realised that everyone else was staring at him with blank looks on their faces, he decided to blame it on the ungodly hour instead of on their glaring lack of knowledge.

“Nikola Tesla? He had his lab on Fifth Avenue. He's like a pop star of physics, man.”

When his enthusiasm still only got blank looks Rufus deflated slightly.

“I did a project on his inventions at school. It's all very fascinating, if you're into physics. You can't tell me none of you have heard of him.”

“Didn't he build a Death Ray?”, Jiya asked.

“He never _actually_ built it but apparently he had plans for one...”

Christopher held up her hand to stop what she thought might turn into a lengthy explanation.

“So he designed weapons? Then I do think Flynn might seek him out. Maybe he wants to make sure it's doesn't stay in the planning stage?”

Lucy thought about it a moment then shrugged.

“Could be, but I doubt anything they could built back then would be better than the weapons he could steal in the present. Maybe Tesla did something Flynn wants to prevent?”

“You can figure out what he wants with him while you get changed. I am sure Rufus can tell you all you need to know about his inventions.” Christopher impatiently shooed them off towards the wardrobe.

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

“You know, I bet Flynn never lands this far away from where he's going...” Rufus kicked a rock in front of him against the nearest tree. A park wasn't an ideal hiding place but there really weren't any other open spaces that still had some protection against observers in New York and landing out in the country just was too far away if they needed to leave in a hurry. So the park it was.

“That's because Flynn doesn't care about not getting seen. He'd just shoot any witnesses.”, Wyatt pointed out. “We, on the other hand, would prefer not to cause another UFO sighting if we can help it.”

Lucy scoffed.

“I don't even know what you two have to complain about? You're not the ones who have to walk for miles in high heeled shoes dragging around multiple layers of skirts. Also this high collar itches and the sleeves just look ridiculous.”

Lucy poked at the puffed out sleeves with one finger and sighed. At least the hat fashion of the day included not only gigantic creations that would put Ascot to shame but also plainer hats for every day wear. She didn't think she could manage all the running around they were about to do with a hat the size of a cart wheel on her head.

“Well, I'm sorry Flynn didn't pick a more aesthetically pleasing decade to wreak havoc upon, _ma'am_.”

“Oh shush, you.” The fond smile on her face took all the harshness out of the words even though she tried her best to glare at Wyatt.

“Why do I even put up with you lot?”, Rufus said with an exaggerated eye roll. Somehow in a remarkably short time this group of strangers had become something like foster siblings to each other. They squabbled a lot but when push came to shove they'd protect each other ferociously.

“Because we're both very handsome and you're in awe of us?” Wyatt easily dodged the fist Rufus aimed at his shoulder.

“Oh, look a carriage, maybe we can hitch a ride. My feet would very much appreciate that...”

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

Flynn pushed back his hat to look up at the house on Fifth Avenue. His gaze flickered back down to the journal and compared the address to the one listed there. He clearly had the right building at least. Underneath the address Lucy had pasted a rather famous picture of a man sitting in front of a gigantic coil of wire reading a book. Next to the picture it said '4th floor' in her precise writing. Stepping inside and pulling off his hat Flynn bemoaned the lack of an elevator. Three flights of stairs it was then...

It wasn't that he wasn't in good enough shape to take the stairs he would just have preferred an elevator after all the walking he'd already done to get here.

Once he reached the door to the lab he made sure his gun was in easy reach in case of unforeseen circumstance or if he needed to do some persuading. He thought he had a pretty good chance of finding his quarry here instead of at his rooms in the hotel New Yorker since it was a work day, Tuesday to be precise, and from all he'd read about the man he was what in modern parlance would be called a _workaholic,_ often working late into the night and on weekends without regard to his own health.

Flynn felt a kind of kinship to this level of dedication. He couldn't remember when he'd last managed to sleep even 4 hours, let alone 8 or 9. Most nights his mind just would not shut off enough for more than a fitful doze and if he managed to sleep the dreams were far from pleasant.

But maybe once this was all over, once Rittenhouse was wiped out of time for good, he could finally rest.

Raising a hand he knocked twice. At first there was no reaction though he could hear someone moving about inside.

He knocked again, longer and more forcefully. This time a muffled voice from inside said something like 'I'm coming, no need to knock down the door!' and he heard footsteps approaching.

The man who pulled open the door was slightly smaller than he'd expected from the pictures he'd seen. Blue eyes stared at him with distrust from under neatly parted dark hair. The moustache looked a little silly, he thought, but that was just the fashion of the time.

“What do you want?”

Even in those few words Flynn detected an accent similar to his own.

Putting on his best salesman smile he asked: “Do I have the pleasure of addressing Mr. Tesla?”

Narrowing his eyes the man looked Flynn over then returned to glaring at him icily.

“Yes, you do, whoever you are, and I'm a very busy man so either get to the point or get out.”

Flynn saw that Tesla was about to close the door in his face so he moved a step forward to block it with his foot.

“My name is Garcia Flynn and I would like to ask you a few questions”, he made a very deliberate pause before adding: “about Rittenhouse.”

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

“I have no idea what you are talking about, I don't know anyone by that name. Now, kindly remove your foot from my door before I do it for you.”

Anger and irritation made Tesla narrow his eyes even further and his hard grip on the side of the door turned his knuckles white. Flynn put his other foot forward as well and leaned against the door with one hand on the handle, blocking it completely and getting him nearly into the lab.

“Now, now, Mr. Tesla, I am sure you can spare a few moments of your time.”

Tesla didn't budge or even flinch when he found himself being loomed over by Flynn, he merely put more of his own weight against the door to keep it from opening fully. He seemed much too calm for a seemingly unarmed man. Flynn made a mental note to be careful in case there were any hidden weapons. He didn't really think there would be, by all accounts Tesla had been a pacifist, but one could never be entirely sure how accurate such accounts were. He did have a rather sharp tongue though.

“Unless you intend to pay me for the privilege, and you don't look like you have that much money, I very much do not. My work doesn't do itself, you know?”

Flynn merely smiled apologetically.

“In that case I fear I'll have to get more persuasive.”

Pulling his handgun out of his pocket he aimed it at Tesla's chest.

“Now if you would be so kind as to step back from the door. We wouldn't want to make a scene and draw any onlookers, do we? There really is no need for anyone to get hurt.”

“Says the man with the gun...”, Tesla nearly growled but he did step back and allow Flynn to fully step through the door and close it behind himself.

“You can be glad my assistants are working somewhere else today or I would really take this invasion personally.”

Only orienting himself very briefly Flynn gestured Tesla over towards the nearest chair while secretly being glad that no one else was in the lab. Less people who could get in the way.

“Why don't you sit down?”

For a moment the scientist looked like he wanted to object then he just scoffed and sat down in the chair.

“So, are you going to tie me up next? Or are you just going to shoot me?”

Flynn perched a flank on the nearest available flat surface that did not have any clutter on it which happened to be a slightly scorched table. He let the gun fall into his lap loosely but did not take the finger off the trigger.

“I have no intention of shooting you if you cooperate, Mr. Tesla. But I will not hesitate to do it if you leave me no other choice. Now, Rittenhouse, tell me.”

Gripping the arms of the chair angrily Tesla leaned forwards in his chair.

“As I keep telling you, I have no idea what or who you're talking about. I don't know anyone by that name. So if that's the only reason you're here you might just as well leave now.”

Leaning back in the chair again Tesla crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Flynn defiantly.

Flynn pulled out Lucy's journal and opened it on the bookmarked pages about Tesla.

“Oh? So do the names Edward Dean Adams, Alfred Brown or George Westinghouse mean anything to you then?”

He looked back up from the written names to find Tesla looking at him and the book in confusion.

“Of course, they are funding my work. We're business partners, so? I still don't see what that has to do with you and your … your...Rathouse-thing.”

“ _Rittenhouse_. Rittenhouse is what those three men have in common. They are all members.”

The journal hadn't told him the man would be so aggravating. Shooting him looked more like the better option every minute.

“So it's a gentlemen's club then? A cricket team? What?”

Flynn took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Rittenhouse is a secret society with members in very influential positions in government and business. And they are planning to take over the world.”

Tesla looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or not.

“And they say I have outlandish theories...So how exactly do you think they want to take over the world then, Mr. Doom-and-Gloom?”

Flynn pinched the bridge of his nose. Really, why did this man think aggravating the man with the gun was a good idea?

“I am not entirely sure but I am guessing whatever research you are doing for them will play a part in it.”

And now Tesla was back to glaring at him.

“I would never allow anyone to use my work in any way that would harm others. I'm not Edison with his damned electric chair.”

“If you try to stand in their way they will just kill you and take your work anyway, Mr. Tesla. They are merely using you.”

Tesla sent a pointed glance at the gun Flynn still had in his hand.

“They aren't the ones threatening me with a firearm.”

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

“So, this is it then? The mad scientist's lair? Looks terribly ordinary.” Wyatt shielded his eyes against the sun and looked the house on the other side of the street up and down.

Rufus meanwhile looked at him like he had just been slapped.

“Mad scientist?! Tesla isn't...wasn't...isn't a mad scientist!”

Wyatt didn't look at all convinced.

“You just told us, in detail, how he thought that sending electricity through people made them more intelligent. And how he thought he was getting messages from Mars. Also, Death Ray, hello? If that doesn't make him a mad scientist I don't know what does.”

“He was just way ahead of his time! He was not a mad scientist and this is a state of the art – for the time - lab, not a lair.”

Lucy decided she'd better intervene before it came to fisticuffs.

“Guys? Can we maybe discuss whether he's mad or not after we've checked that Flynn hasn't done anything to him?”

“Right, yes, we should...Oh my God, we're actually going to go up there and meet Nikola Tesla.” The big smile on Rufus face made him look like a boy in a candy store.

“He's such a fanboy...”

Wyatt just shook his head and crossed the street. He held the door open for the other two and kept an eye out for Flynn or his goons.

They didn't meet anyone on the way up but Wyatt pulled out his gun anyway before they knocked on the door to Tesla's lab.

There was no answer.

“Maybe he's at home?”, Lucy suggested.

Rufus shook his head. “Tesla spent more time in his labs than he ever did in his hotel rooms. He wouldn't be at home in the middle of the day.”

Wyatt pushed them both aside and stepped up to the door to check the lock.

“Maybe Flynn was already here then. The lock doesn't look like it's been tempered with but who knows...”

Pulling out a set of lock picks Wyatt set to work on the door.

“We can't just break into Tesla's lab!”

Lucy put a hand on Rufus' arm.

“We don't have any other choice. He's not answering the door so either he's not here or Flynn got him and he might be injured.” _Or dead_ , she thought, but didn't say it out loud.

“Got it”, Wyatt said quietly as he carefully started to push the door open. Gun raised he entered the lab first, the other two only a few steps behind him. Distracted by the man sitting very calmly in a chair Wyatt nearly didn't see Flynn come at him with a second chair from around a corner.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Taken utterly by surprise Wyatt didn't quite manage to avoid the chair that came crashing down on him. One of the legs hit his gun hand, knocking the weapon to the other side of the room and making his whole forearm numb for a moment. The back of the chair hit his opposite shoulder and sent spikes of pain down that arm. The force of impact drove him back and he stumbled, unable to regain his balance, until he crashed into the wall. He must have hit his head because the next thing he's aware of is sitting on the floor, back against the wall, and wondering if he's hallucinating or if Lucy and Flynn are actually aiming guns at each other.

"Shoot the bastard!", he groans out while trying to sit up. Moving sent another jolt of pain down his left arm, which he also couldn't move, and he realised that the blow must have dislocated his shoulder.

Lucy still hadn't pulled the trigger, she was merely looking at him and then at Flynn like a deer in the headlights.

"Lucy! Shoot him!"

Flynn on the other hand was completely ignoring him, ignoring everyone but Lucy. There was no fear in his eyes, only the same burning intensity Wyatt saw every time the other man looked at her. It grated at Wyatt that Flynn would always so casually dismiss him, that the only one of them he seemed to recognise as an actual person was Lucy. No one else was important to him, they were all expendable. And he didn't seem to take the threat Wyatt posed seriously, which annoyed him even more. And above all, Flynn couldn't have Lucy, she was theirs, their historian, their friend.

Lucy's hands holding the gun were shaking, Flynn's were steady as a rock.

"You're not going to shoot me, Lucy. You're not a killer. "

"Like you, you mean?"

It was an old argument and Flynn clearly didn't feel like continuing it today. Instead he retreated towards the door.

"Ask him what Rittenhouse is helping him built, Lucy, and then you can decide what side you're on today. "

At the same time Wyatt shouted "Fucking shoot him!" Flynn lowered his own weapon and vanished out the door.

Lucy was still pointing her gun at the empty doorway, shaking like she was going to break down any moment.

Rufus carefully walked up to her, like approaching a skittish horse, hands lifted up to show he wasn't a threat.

"It's ok, Lucy, he's gone. You can give me the gun now. "

Very carefully he took it from her clenched fingers and as soon as it was out of her hands she collapsed against him to hug him tight.

"Wyatt, are you alright? I thought he'd...that you were badly hurt."

Letting go of Rufus Lucy hurried to Wyatt's side to fuss over him ineffectively and finally help him up and over to a chair.

"My shoulder is dislocated, I've got a few new bruises and a killer headache but otherwise I'm fine, Lucy."

She gave him a shaky smile in answer to this blatant lie.

All of them had completely forgotten about Tesla so when the man came sauntering up to them with two bottles of wine they all jumped a bit.

"I think, now that Tall-Dark-and-Heavily-Armed is gone, we could all use a drink."

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

Since no one but Wyatt had any idea how to reset a dislocated shoulder he had to first explain it to them before they could help him. The idea alone made Lucy look kind of green and Rufus was only faring slightly better.

"You've cut a bullet out of me, Rufus, you can manage to put my shoulder back where it belongs. "

"I don't know man, that sounds really painful and I don't want to do it wrong. Shouldn't we call a doctor?"

Wyatt positioned himself sideways on the chair so his left arm was hanging over the back, the upper edge of it in his arm pit.

"It's really painful right now, Rufus, and the longer we sit and discuss this the harder it will be to do it. All you have to do is pull my arm down slowly and carefully. It should just pop back in if I can manage to relax the muscles in my arm and shoulder. No big deal. "

"No big deal, he says, no big deal, just going to pop back in...", Rufus mumbled as he got in position next to Wyatt's chair.

"This might help with the relaxing, Punching Bag.", Tesla said and handed Wyatt an open bottle of amber coloured liquid with a hand written label that said ' _Rakija_ '.

Taking the bottle with his right hand Wyatt eyed it suspiciously.

"I'm not going to go blind from drinking this, will I?"

"I'll take it back if you don't want it...", Tesla said, and held his hand out for the bottle. "My sisters sent me this, do you think they would want to poison me? "

"Alright, alright, I'll drink it. Thank you. "

Wyatt took a big gulp of the liquor and his eyes started to water.

"Is this supposed to be this strong?"

"Yes, keep drinking. "

Wyatt took a few more sips until he started to feel slightly drowsy. Handing the bottle back to Tesla he closed his eyes and tried to relax as best as possible.

"Ok, Rufus, now pull, slowly and steadily. "

Rufus grabbed Wyatt's lower arm with sweaty palms and slowly started to pull it towards the ground.

"Here goes nothing..."

It took them a while but finally the joint realigned itself and both Rufus and Wyatt let out a relieved sigh.

"We need something to make a sling", Lucy said and Tesla vanished into one of the adjacent rooms only to return a few moments later with a scarf.

"Take this, that colour combination went out of style last year anyway."

Lucy took the scarf from his hand with a quiet “Thank you” and together her and Rufus managed to put Wyatt's arm into their improvised sling.

Wyatt was blinking at them slightly bleary eyed.

"That was some strong stuff...could the room please stop spinning? "

Tesla mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like _light weight_ before pointing to the room he had just retrieved the scarf from.

"I have a cot back there, maybe your Cowboy should go lie down for a while."

"That sounds like a good idea, come on Wyatt."

Together Lucy and Rufus manoeuvred a slightly unsteady Wyatt to the bed then returned to the lab.

Tesla was leaning against a table when they returned, a glass of red wine in his hand, and the look on his face far from welcoming.

"Since all the hectic is finally over could someone explain to me what the hell is going on here? "

Now that the adrenaline was slowly leaving his system the fact that he was talking to _the_ Nikola Tesla finally caught up with Rufus and he just stared at the other man star struck and unable to form coherent words.

Lucy lightly elbowed his side as she stepped up to him and he stumbled forward, hand extended.

"Mr. Tesla, it's such an honour to get to meet you. I've read everything about you and I just want to say how much I admire your work. "

Tesla just looked at the extended hand than at Rufus' glowing face with slight affront.

"I have many admirers, naturally. Even though your trigger-happy friends seem to have no manners at all how about you do better and first introduce yourself and your lady-friend?"

Rufus dropped his extended hand and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. This was hardly going the way he'd imagined.

"Yes, of course, sorry. This is Lucy Preston and I'm Rufus, Rufus Carlin."

“Since you already seem to know who I am how about we proceed to you explaining to me why anyone would storm my laboratory and ramble on about some secret society that wants to take over the world with my inventions?”

 


	4. Chapter 4

“But what _exactly_ is Rittenhouse asking you to build for them?”, Lucy asked slightly impatiently after about 15 minutes of trying to explain who Flynn was and why he would seek out Tesla without giving away the fact that they were time travellers.

Tesla hadn't looked like he believe a word they said so instead of allowing him to question them further she had tried to change the topic.

“As I told Doom-and-Gloom, I have no idea who or what this Riddlehouse” - “ _Rittenhouse”_ , Lucy and Rufus corrected him quietly at the same time - “yes, whatever, _this thing_ is supposed to be or what it could possibly have to do with me or my business partners.”

Lucy frowned.

“Your business partners? Which ones?”

Lifting one eyebrow like that was a strange thing to ask Tesla replied: “Westinghouse, for one, also apparently Edward Dean Adams and Alfred Brown.”

“George Westinghouse was a member of Rittenhouse?”, Rufus asked incredulously. “Huh, never did seem the type.”

“You know him?”, Tesla inquired suspiciously.

“Me? No, no, no, definitely not. I just know all, well, a lot, about him, and you, and how you were...are working together. Doing great work together, and I'll shut up now and where did that wine go...?”

Rufus retreated to the table he had sat down his untouched glass of wine on and took a big gulp. Babbling out things he really shouldn't know in front of one of the most intelligent people ever was really not a good idea.

“Even if Flynn can come on a tiny but strongly”, Lucy said carefully and Tesla scoffed, “he is right about one thing: Rittenhouse is dangerous. Not just to individuals, to all of America, maybe even the world. They are a very old organisation with countless members in influential positions and they want even more power than that.”

Tesla stepped over to the table as well while Lucy talked, making Rufus nervously jump out of his way, and refilled his own glass.

“Whatever passes for _old_ in this young country of yours, anyway. Who says the world would not be better off with your Risenhouse” - “ _Rittenhouse_!” - “whatever, in charge? Have you taken a look at the political climate in Europe recently? Every country over there is desperate for war yet none of them want to admit it outright. And how many people will die if they get their way? Thousands, if not millions I'd imagine. I don't think things could get any worse than that.”

Lucy leaned her forehead against her hand and let out long sigh while Tesla took a long sip of his wine. He wasn't wrong, World War I wouldn't be called the war to end all wars, and wrongly so, for nothing. Yet she still felt what Rittenhouse had planned, controlling the world like it was just a game of _The Sims_ , was far worse. But she couldn't think of a single way to make the infuriating man in front of her believe that.

“Why don't we start with all the things you are currently working on here and then we'll see if we can't find one that Rittenhouse might want?”, she finally suggested.

“Yes, because I am just going to explain my ongoing projects to two virtual strangers who might, I don't know, be spies for my competitors?”

The sarcasm was fairly dripping from Tesla's words.

“I don't expect you to tell us in detail, just, like headlines?”, Lucy suggested.

“Fine, headlines it is.” Tesla started drifting around the lab seemingly aimlessly, looking at the different ongoing projects like he needed to remind himself what exactly he was working on. He finally stopped at one table and , after setting down his now nearly empty glass of wine, picked up a _Geissler_ tube.

“Perfecting the use of wireless electricity, for one.” He flicked a switch on a nearby oscillator and the tube in his hands started to glow.

Rufus looked around the room, excitedly, and only now noticed the wires circling the room.

“Yes, I've read about that...”, he mumbled, “this is awesome.”

Tesla tossed the tube to Rufus, who was startled and fumbled with it a bit but did manage not to drop it. Lucy stepped closer to him and ran one hand along the glowing tube as if she couldn't help herself. Rufus meanwhile kept telling himself that no, he very well could not swing it around and make lightsaber noises unless he wanted to look absolutely ridiculous.

Clearing her throat Lucy pulled back her hand and shrugged.

“While this is very fascinating I doubt that it is what Rittenhouse is after. What else?”

Tesla had already moved to a different table. He touched a few even for Rufus unidentifiable machines that looked more improvised than actually finished.

“Invisible radiant energy, peevish little thing, it keeps ruining my photography plates. I am not quite sure yet what kind of energy it is but I'm sure I'll pin it down soon.”

On to the next machine he went. It consisted of a box and what appeared to be a model of a submarine with a long wire attached at the top.

“A _teleautomaton_ , which I will be able to control from a distance wirelessly using radio waves.”

Lucy and Rufus looked at each other and shrugged.

“No, not those either, I guess.”

Tesla went on to another, much bigger machine that was not resting on a table but standing on the floor and yet still towered over the scientist. There were coils of wires creating what nearly looked like a window.

“And this one, well, it's a bit obstinate, and keeps trying to kill me, but I have high hopes for it.”

Lucy looked at the strange machine with some distrust.

“If it keeps trying to kill you, why are you still working on it?”

“Because it is well worth the risk. The last time I worked on it, only a few days ago actually, it sent quite a high current of electricity through me and before my assistant turned off the power supply I could see the past, the present and the future, all at the same time. Time travel, my strange American friends, might well be within our reach.”

Rufus nearly dropped the glowing tube he was still holding in his hands and both him and Lucy were too shocked to make a reply. Tesla, meanwhile, seemed to interpret their shock as awe and went straight into lecture more.

Picking up a random straight piece of wire he held it up at eye level.

“This is what everyone usually thinks time is like, a straight line, from start to finish, when in fact it is much more like this.”

Tesla started winding the wire around two fingers creating a spiral, the different loops nearly touching.

“Throughout history there have been reports about certain places, certain events, where people have stumbled upon doors and windows to a different time. They saw events unfold that were yet to happen, or had happened a long time ago, they could sometimes even step right into the past or future. There also seems to be a correlation of these events with storms, especially lightning storms. Now, my theory, and I am simplifying it a lot for all the less intelligent people in the room.”

Lucy and Rufus both threw him decidedly unimpressed glances at that comment, which he simply ignored.

“My theory is that by creating a very strong and very specific electromagnetic field we can pull those loops of time together and allow them to touch, metaphorically speaking.” He pushed on both ends of the wire spiral in his hands until the loops lay flat against each other.

“This would allow us, through far less energy than would normally be necessary, to punch a small hole through time, so to speak, and sneak through its defences like the Trojans in their horse.”

His little lecture over Tesla looked at his uninvited guests waiting for their reaction.

Lucy opened and closed her mouth a few times, completely lost for words.

Rufus finally put the glowing tube down with shaking hands, turned to Lucy and said in a shocked half-whisper: “He's their Victorian Connor Mason! This is bad, this is very, very bad!”

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

Flynn, meanwhile, was far from giving up. He was sure Lucy and her boys would be busy for quite a while with Mr. Tesla. The scientist didn't seem like the kind of person who'd just let them leave without an explanation.

This gave Flynn at least an hour to come up with a different plan. After hurrying down the stairs, being sure to make some noise so they would think he was fleeing, he stopped on the ground floor to think through his options. There Flynn noticed a door the read “ _Gillis & Geoghegan_, steam fitters' supplies”. The office hours, helpfully displayed next to the door, told him the office would close in half an hour. In about an hour he should have the place to himself. Maybe he should just lie low here until Lucy and the boy band left and confront Tesla again?

Finding himself a quiet, secluded spot near the entrance to the basement Flynn leaned against the wall to wait. Should he need to he could always duck through the door into the basement to avoid being seen. He doubted Wyatt would think to search the building before they left.

And even if another talk with Tesla didn't prove any more fruitful than the first there was always the possibility to simply make sure he didn't complete his work.

His hand went to the small package of explosives in his pocket and he eyed the office door again. These old buildings would burn like dry paper and the fire brigades were far from as fast as they were in modern times.

Yes, he would make sure to have a plan B - or would that be plan C? - in place before he went back up to try it Lucy's way one more time. And maybe, if he could convince Tesla, he could even get the man to turn his genius against Rittenhouse. Now wouldn't that be something?

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Leaving Rufus to keep an eye on Tesla – actually to stare at the scientist working on something or other with adoration – Lucy went to the back room to check up on Wyatt.

She crouched down next to the cot and calmly said his name. She knew it was a bad idea to startle a soldier, especially one with PTSD, but he really needed to wake up.

When he didn't react at first she lightly touched his uninjured shoulder and repeated his name more loudly.

Finally he startled awake, the hand not in a sling going to his empty holster. Only then did he seem to realise who had woken him.

“Lucy? How long was I asleep for?”

She got up when she saw him struggling to rise and helped him into a seating position with his back against the wall and his feet on the cot before him. Lucy sat down next to his legs and checked her pocket watch.

“About an hour and a half, I think? How are you feeling?”

He rubbed his eyes .

“You should have woken me sooner. Flynn?”

“Hasn't come back. How is your shoulder?”

“Not as painful as my head. You wouldn't happen to have some water? I swear, whatever that stuff was Tesla gave me it was not good.”

Lucy walked over to the sink where she could see a glass and toothbrush and brought Wyatt back a glass of water.

He gulped it down in one go and held it out to her for more.

“I think your headache isn't just because of the alcohol, you must have hit your head on the wall when Flynn attacked you, your were unconscious for a while there.”

He sipped the second glass much more slowly.

“I hit my head? I don't remember that.”

Suddenly Wyatt went pale and stumbled over to the sink. He only just made it there before he doubled over and vomited up what little had been in his stomach. He groaned and turned on the water to wash his face.

“Oh, great, concussion and bad alcohol. Today really isn't my day.”

It earned him a weak smile from Lucy.

“And don't forget the dislocated shoulder and the assorted bruises.”, she added helpfully.

“Yes, how could I forget those?”

Lucy's look turned much more concerned as he stumbled back on shaky legs to collapse onto the bed again next to her.

“We should take you home, Wyatt, have a doctor, a 21st century doctor, have a look at you. I don't know much about medicine but I know hitting your head hard enough to pass out can lead to intracranial bleeding. We need to go home.”

“Not yet. We don't know yet what Flynn is up to. Only because he left doesn't mean he won't be back.”

They entered into a starring match for a few seconds, neither wanting to give in. Lucy didn't like how pale Wyatt still was, how he might be dying yet wouldn't let her help him. Wyatt on the other hand would not let Flynn get away with whatever he was doing just because he got a bump on the head. Who knows what the psycho would do to Tesla if they just left?

“Lucy, please, I'll be fine. I'll tell you if the headache gets worse, ok? I'll tell you if I experience any other symptoms and then you and Rufus can drag me home, deal?”

Lucy looked into his eyes for a second, looking for any signs of lying, for signs that he was much worse than he let on, then nodded.

“Fine, but if you are lying to me, or holding back, and die because you were to stubborn to go home, I will kill you.”

Wyatt chuckled weakly then whispered another _Ow_ as the movement hurt his head and shoulder.

Lucy sighed defeatedly and said: “I think we, Rufus and I, know why Flynn was here. Tesla is building a time machine.”

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

It didn't take long to bring Wyatt up to speed on what they had found out so far. A few minutes after she'd woken him up they left the back room so Wyatt could have a look at the machine himself.

He swayed a little when he got up but refused any kind of help from Lucy.

“I'm just a little light-headed, nothing to worry about. I bet it's still that damned moonshine Tesla had me drink.”

Lucy complained under her breath about stupid machos not admitting when they needed help but left him to making his own way out to the lab.

“Ah, sleeping beauty has finally been kissed awake it seems. Does this mean you will leave and I can get back to my work?” Tesla didn't look in the least bit sympathetic to Wyatt's headache or his other assorted pains and bruises.

“We're not going anywhere as long as Flynn's still around.”

Wyatt lowered himself onto a chair slowly and Rufus hurried over to Lucy, the worry for their friend very clear on his face.

“He's not looking so good, Lucy, shouldn't we get him back to the … you know, and to a doctor?”

Lucy sighed.

“That's what I said but he refused to leave.”

Tesla pointed a screw driver at each of them in turn.

“I am very capable of taking care of myself without Snow White and her two Dwarfs to protect me. Shoo, go make a nuisance of yourself somewhere else.”

All three of them glared at him at this blatant insult and lack of gratefulness for saving him from Flynn.

“If your trigger-happy friend comes back he will wish that he hadn't. I don't take kindly to people threatening me.”

“What are you going to do, insult him to death?”, Wyatt asked with a smirk.

Tesla merely ignored him and poked around in a tangle of wires on the table in front of him.

Wyatt pushed the hand of his less injured arm through his hair in frustration.

“Look, I get it, we barged in here without so much as a by-your-leave but we were just trying to save you from a crazy killer. A killer, who, by the way, is still out there somewhere waiting for a second chance.”

Without looking up from his work Tesla replied: “And how much help do you think you will be should he come back, cowboy? You barely survived your first try, I'd say. You have only one useable arm, look like a strong breeze would blow you over and are shaking like a new born horse.”

Wyatt had to admit that the annoying man did have a point there.

“I'm not alone, and Lucy and Rufus aren't injured.”

“A woman, and a man who wouldn't say boo to a goose? Oh, I feel so much safer...”

Tesla exchanged the screw driver for some other kind of tool and kept poking around in whatever the thing on his table was.

“And I must say if your tall friend is crazy than so are you. You are all babbling about this Ritterhouse”, - “Well, he nearly got it right this time,” Rufus whispered - “and how they want to take my inventions and rule the world, which is one of the craziest ideas I have heard so far, and that includes the time Griffin wanted to rob the Bank of England, just for fun, and _then_ break in again to put the money back.”

He dropped whatever he was working on to get himself another glass of wine.

“No one is using my inventions without my permission and none of this is even remotely powerful enough to take over one country let alone the world.”

“Not even your time machine?”, Lucy asked carefully.

“The time machine? It's not even working yet, at least not without killing whoever tries to use it.”

“And it never should be working, Mr. Tesla. Time travel is dangerous, just think about all the damage someone could cause by going back in time.”

Lucy saw in Tesla's face that she didn't sound like someone who didn't know that time travel was indeed possible, quite the opposite really. She sounded like a woman who had spent way too much time thinking about and living through the consequences of time travel. He wasn't called a genius for nothing and if they didn't get very lucky before this visit was over he would find out exactly who they are and where, and especially _when_ , they came from.

“You must destroy it, tell everyone who knows about it that it would never work.”

“Admit defeat, you mean? Never. I don't give up. This machine will work and I will make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands.”

Rufus shook his head.

“No, you don't know Rittenhouse the way we do. If they want something they'll get it and they don't care who they have to hurt to do so. They'll steal it, Mr. Tesla, and there won't be anything you can do about it. Please, destroy it.

Tesla crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“My answer is still no. I am not destroying this machine. And now you will leave before I call the police.”

With a groan Wyatt pushed himself up from his chair. He grabbed the chair by its legs and lifted it up.

“If you won't destroy it, I will!”

He took a few steps towards the machine but before he could get even close, or before Tesla who had stepped out from behind the lab table to intercept him, could reach him Wyatt's eyes rolled up and he fell to the floor in a dead faint. The chair clattered to he floor harmlessly.

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

“Wyatt!”

Lucy jumped to his side immediately and turned him on his back to check for a pulse and to check he was still breathing.

“We need to get him to a hospital, Rufus, we need to get him back home.”

“Damn it, we shouldn't have let him talk us out of going right away. Now how will we get him into the ship?”

Lucy was lightly slapping Wyatt's cheeks, trying to wake him up.

“Come on, soldier, no sleeping on the job. Wyatt? Wake up!”

Tesla, meanwhile had stepped over to his telephone and made a quiet call.

He returned to his unbidden guests and looked at them suspiciously.

“I have no idea what kind of ship you think you want to get him into but I just called you a cab that will take him to the nearest hospital. You can wait for it downstairs.”

“That's harsh, man. Our friend might be dying!”

“And I made sure he gets transportation to a hospital. He's not my responsibility. Must I remind you that you are trespassers and I would be well within my rights to shoot you?”

Tesla stalked over to the door to open it just as Wyatt started to come around.

“Oh God, Wyatt! Are you alright?”

Lucy and Rufus helped him sit up and even though their friend gave them a not very convincing “I'm fine, stop fussing” Lucy checked his pulse again before putting a hand to his forehead.

“Do you even know what you're doing, Lucy?”

Rufus didn't sound like he thought she did.

“Not really, um, but no fever is good I guess? Wyatt, Tesla called us a cab so we can take you to somewhere you can get help. Can you get up so we can get you downstairs?”

Lucy didn't know if Wyatt understood what she meant, he didn't seem to be completely with them yet, but she thought he might have caught the gist of it because he immediately complained: “What about Flynn?”

After all the near misses and the excitement of the day Lucy's temper finally snapped.

“Forget for one moment your sick fixation on killing Flynn and let us get you to the _Lifeboat_ before you die!”

All three men looked at Lucy like she'd grown a second head. She didn't care, all she cared about was saving Wyatt.

“Rufus, help me get him onto his feet and down those stairs.”

Still much to perplexed to complain Rufus did just that.

It took the two of them quite a while and a lot of mumbled curses to manoeuvre a weakly resisting Wyatt down three flights of stairs without dropping him or all of them falling down the stairs together.

Tesla had slammed his door shut once they had passed the doorstep and was in general refusing to be of any help.

On the ground floor they set Wyatt down on the bottom step and opened the door so they would see the cab arrive.

The wait gave Lucy some time to calm down and by the time the cab arrived and she had helped Rufus get Wyatt on it she had come to a decision.

“Rufus, do you still have Wyatt's gun?”

Rufus patted his coat pocket.

“Yes, sure, why?”

Lucy held out a hand.

“Give it to me.”

Most likely still influenced by her earlier outbreak Rufus handed the gun over immediately. Only when Lucy had already pocketed it did he remember to ask why.

“You're taking Wyatt home and I'll stay here in case Flynn comes back.”, Lucy said in a tone that forbade any arguing. Still, Rufus didn't intend to let her do this without putting up a fight.

“That's crazy, Lucy. How would you get home? And what will you do if Flynn does come back?”

“You can come back later, how about five days from now? You can come back to that same park and pick me up, I'll be there. And let me worry about Flynn. Out of the three of us I have the least to fear from him, wouldn't you agree? And someone still needs to talk Tesla out of completing that time machine.”

Rufus really wanted to argue the point some more but he knew that she wouldn't budge. She was also most likely right that Flynn wouldn't hurt her. And Wyatt needed to get help as soon as possible.

Rufus jumped back down from the cab and enveloped Lucy in a tight hug.

“Ok, ok, but promise me you'll be careful and you'll damn well better be in that park in five days or I'll be very cross with you.”

Lucy hugged him back as tightly and promised that everything would be alright.

After she had watched them drive off with tears in her eyes she walked back into the house.

Unsurprisingly Tesla wouldn't let her back into the lab, refused to even speak to her, even though she knocked continuously for nearly a minute so she finally went back down the stairs to the ground floor. She set down on the bottom step where they had waited for the cab to give herself some time to think about her options.

A shadow appeared suddenly at the corner of her eye and as she turned her head Flynn was just sitting down on the stairs next to her.

“Did you finally ditch them and decide to throw in your lot with me?”, he joked with a wry grin on his face.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Short of shooting him, which she really didn't want to have to do, all Lucy could do to keep things from escalating was to stick to Flynn like glue to prevent him from doing something terrible to Tesla. So far she had always been the only one Flynn even slightly listened to.

Because of this she didn't even try to draw the gun she had got from Rufus when Flynn appeared next to her.

“Of course I'm not throwing in my lot with you. You're here to kill him!”

Lucy wondering where Flynn had suddenly appeared from looked around the small hallway. She knew he hadn't come from outside because she hadn't taken her eyes from the front door. With night now fully fallen outside she could barely make out the partially open door to the stairs leading down and thought he must have been hiding in the basement.

“Have you been here the whole time we were upstairs?”

Flynn shrugged, his expression amused.

“Of course, you had to leave sometime. He doesn't seem the kind of man who is happy about the company of strangers so I was pretty sure he'd throw you out sooner or later. I didn't expect you to stay behind, to be honest.”

Lucy sighed. Wyatt had been right about Flynn coming back, she had to begrudgingly admit.

“Someone has to protect Tesla from you and, as you most likely saw, you hurt Wyatt quite badly. Rufus is taking him home.”

Flynn, unsurprisingly, didn't seem particularly worried or contrite about Wyatt's injuries.

“And they left you stranded here, with me. Do you still not believe that we are meant to work together to beat Rittenhouse once and for all, Lucy?”

She didn't know how to answer that because she really wasn't sure anymore herself. Everything she had learned about Rittenhouse so far had proven Flynn right. And Anthony had not been exaggerating when he said that the only one standing in their way was Garcia Flynn.

Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus were not really in any position to work against Rittenhouse as efficiently as Flynn could , mostly because they were, when all was said and done, working _for_ Rittenhouse.

And Wyatt's inexplicably strong hatred for Flynn didn't help matters any.

“I'm not going to let you kill Tesla.”, Lucy said finally.

“I don't see what makes you so sure that I am here to kill him. I could have done that before you even barged in. But if we have no other way of stopping him ...”, he didn't finish the sentence but Lucy knew what he stopped himself from saying.

“No, there is _always_ another way, there has to be. We can...talk him around, somehow.”

Flynn laughed, not at her really but at the idea that anyone could talk that stubborn Serb into anything.

“You have met the man, haven't you? I spent half an hour trying to talk to him before you showed up. I might as well have been talking to a wall.”

He pulled out the journal and idly leaved through it.

“Which, by the way, you could have mentioned when writing about him. Would have saved me some trouble, I think. There isn't one word in here about how utterly aggravating that man is.”

Lucy was still uncomfortable with the idea that she might indeed have written that journal, _would write_ that journal at some nebulous time in her future and then give it to Flynn in his past. God, time travel made everything so much more complicated.

“So, shall we have one more try at doing this your way, Lucy? Or should I just tie you to a chair and do it my way?”

The amusement glinting in his eyes made her 65% sure that he was joking about tying her up, well maybe 60%. She glared at him for a second for good measure before getting up and starting up the stairs again.

“First, we'll have to manage to make him let us back in,” - Lucy saw Flynn pull out his gun - “ _without_ shooting him!”

“I'm not going to shoot him...yet. It's just a precaution. I have a feeling our Mr. Tesla is much less bookish and harmless than he would like us to think. As for him letting us back in, we can always just let ourselves in.”

Breathing slightly more heavily from the exercise – climbing three flights of stairs twice in about 15 minutes really was no small feat – Lucy shook her head.

“Breaking down his door will hardly make him more likely to listen to what we have to say.”

“How about picking the lock?”, Flynn suggested. _His_ breathing was perfectly even, Lucy realised with envy.

“It's still breaking and entering. He has to let us in himself or all that we will have accomplished is that he'll call the police on us after all.”

“So how exactly do you propose we get him to let us inside?”, Flynn asked with a long-suffering look that made it clear he didn't believe that whatever she might suggest would work. She knew if her approach took too long he would just break down the door anyway. Subtlety wasn't Flynn's strong suit for the most part.

“I don't know yet, but I have two more flights of stairs to think of something.”

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

But even by the time they had arrived at Tesla's door Lucy was no closer to figuring out a way to make the rude scientist open his door for them.

So all she could do was go back to knocking and calling his name.

“Mr. Tesla, please, we really need to talk with you. You have no idea how much danger you are in.”

Flynn, unhelpful as ever, merely held up a pair of lock picks with a cheeky grin when Lucy looked at him questioningly.

“No,” she whispered, “I'll get through to him, somehow.”

She stopped her knocking for a moment to think about everything she knew about the man, which apart from Rufus going on and on about his inventions was preciously little. She couldn't remember anything about his private life, anything that did not have to do with his work.

She was nearly at a point where she would even resort to asking Flynn to show her the relevant pages of the journal but then she recalled Tesla talking about sisters when he gave Wyatt that slightly suspicious bottle of alcohol.

“I know you think you can hold your own against Rittenhouse, Mr. Tesla, but what about your family?”

Lucy thought she saw Flynn flinch slightly out of the corner of her eye and felt a twinge of sorrow for him and his family.

“That is where they'll turn when you won't cooperate, Mr. Tesla, they'll threaten and hurt the people you love. You have sisters, didn't you say that? What about your parents? Or friends? A spouse maybe?”

Suddenly the door was pulled open and Tesla glared down at her from his greater height.

“And are you now threatening my family as well? Because if you are you will greatly regret it.”

Only then did Tesla seem to realise that Lucy wasn't alone.

“Did you bring him along so he can threaten to shoot me again?”

His eyes dropped meaningfully to the gun Flynn still held in his hand.

“No, he's not going to shoot you and I am not threatening your family, I want to help you protect them from Rittenhouse.”

Lucy reached over and pushed Flynn's gun hand towards his pocket. For a moment he resisted her then he rolled his eyes, put the gun away and held up his empty hands.

“Like she said, I'm not going to shoot you, _if_ you hear us out. Preferably inside.”

“Flynn! I told you, no threats!”

Tesla huffed out a laugh but somehow their squabbling had put him slightly more at ease.

“Fine, come in, but I am warning you my patience has been stretched rather thin today already and I am not prepared to put up with more vague nonsense. If you want me to take you seriously I suggest you start telling me the truth.”

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

Fortified with another glass of wine and sitting in his chair like it was a throne Tesla waited for them to begin. Lucy and Flynn hadn't been offered any refreshments which didn't really surprise her.

They settled themselves into the remaining chairs and Flynn leaned towards Tesla slightly, his elbows resting on his legs and his hands folded as if he were pleading for the other man to listen.

“Why don't we start with what exactly you think we are lying to you about and take it from there?”

Tesla lifted an eyebrow.

“I didn't say you were lying, per say, but none of you have been telling me the whole truth either. For one, I would very much like to know how you know about this oh-so-secret organisation and that my business partners are allegedly members.”

Flynn nodded like he had expected the question.

“Fair enough, I will tell you the truth” - “Flynn, you can't,” Lucy hissed at him quietly, which he just ignored - “I will tell you but I am not sure you'll believe it.”

Tesla merely gestured with his glass for Flynn to go on.

“When I found out about Rittenhouse in the course of my work for the government of the United States they sent a group of assassins to my home to shut me up. As you can see, I managed to get away. My wife and daughter weren't so lucky.”

Unconsciously Lucy put a hand on Flynn's arm at the pain in his voice. Sometimes he made it hard to remember that he, with single-minded indifference, dealt out the same pain he suffered to the families of all the people he has killed in his crusade against Rittenhouse. When he didn't visibly react to her offer of comfort she awkwardly puller her hand back.

Flynn cleared his throat then continued: “Afterwards I was given information about Rittenhouse that enabled me to fight back, get revenge, and hopefully even save my family. You see, Rittenhouse had a time machine, two actually, and I stole one of them.”

Lucy saw Tesla unconsciously look towards his own unfinished time machine and frown.

“You stole it...when?”

“In about 120 years from now.”

Flynn fell silent and gave Tesla time to digest that revelation. Lucy didn't think the scientist looked completely surprised, more like a rather outlandish theory had suddenly been proven to be correct. She knew they had been talking too carelessly earlier.

“So you, the whole circus troupe of you, are from the future, and you came here in that time machine you stole, correct so far?”

Flynn nodded but at the same time corrected: “I came in the machine I stole, Lucy and the other two were sent after me in the second time machine by Rittenhouse.”

“So if she works for them why would she want the same thing from me that you want?”

Lucy decided since Flynn had already let the proverbial cat out of the bag there was no point in her holding back either.

“Rittenhouse may have sent us after Flynn but we didn't know it was them. When we found out we decided to work against them as well. At least as much as we could without endangering the people we care about.”

Tesla looked thoughtful for a moment.

“And what exactly do you think will happen should I decide to discontinue the work on my time machine? Don't you think they would try to... _encourage_ me to continue it anyway? Even destroying it wouldn't change anything, it's all up here.”

Tesla pointed to his own head.

“I always first construct my inventions in my head, that's the part of the process that takes the longest. Assembling them is only the final and smallest part of it.”

Lucy nervously bit her lip and shot a look at Flynn out of the corner of her eyes trying to gauge whether Tesla had just signed his own death warrant by admitting that.

Flynn looked as inscrutable as ever, giving away nothing of his intentions.

“But do they know all that?”, Lucy asked quickly.

“Do they know you have all the plans in your head? Or could you just tell them it got all destroyed, the prototype, the plans, everything, and that you have no way of rebuilding it?”

Flynn leaned back in his chair, his hands resting on the arms, waiting for Tesla's answer.

“Even if they believed that they would hardly believe that I don't at least remember parts of it and can work from that. You are on a fool's errant, Snow White.”

“Then I fear you aren't leaving us much of a choice.”, Flynn added calmly.

“Is he always this tense? Can't be good for your digestion, Doom-and-Gloom. If your intention is to scare me you'll have to try harder.”

Tesla didn't change his relaxed position and merely took another sip of his wine.

“And no matter what you say or threaten I _can't_ leave a project unfinished. I just can't. It's a physical, or maybe a mental, impossibility.”

Tesla shrugged as if to say _'That's how it is, nothing to be done about it'_.

“So your neurosis is more important than the fate of the world?”

Flynn sounded almost disgusted.

“Says the man who is so obsessed with revenge he even stole a time machine. How important is the fate of the world to you, Captain Ahab? What if you had to chose between your revenge and the world, wouldn't you just let the world burn if it meant burning your enemies as well?”

Flynn jumped up, suddenly enraged, his gun appearing in his hand as if it were a magic trick and he had just conjured it up out of thin air. Flynn aimed it at Tesla's chest as he took a quick step forward to loom over him.

“How dare you? You know nothing about me! I am doing this for my family, they are all I want!”

Without even looking at the gun or seeming worried at all Tesla merely put his glass down on the table before glaring up at Flynn.

“It won't work, Ahab, time has a way of protecting itself. No matter what you'll do it won't change a thing. What exactly do you think will change about your future if I don't finish the machine? Someone else merely will pick up where I left of.”

“I am willing to take that chance.”

In the tensing of his shoulders, getting ready to absorb the kick back of a gun, Lucy saw what he was about to do a split second before Flynn pulled the trigger, twice.

 

 

 

-03-12-18-95-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

“No!”

She surged forward and threw all of her weight against his gun arm but she already knew she was too late.

Tesla's chair tipped back and fell over, the scientist tumbling onto the floor where he lay still.

“You said you wouldn't shoot him!” Lucy still clung to Flynn's arm, trying to take the gun away from him. He merely pushed her off as if her grip had no more strength than a child's and made her stumble backwards a few steps.

“I said if there was another way I wouldn't shoot him. He clearly wasn't going to stop working with Rittenhouse.”

Stalking around the chair Flynn bent down to check for a pulse.

A hand with inch long black claws shot up and curled around Flynn's neck.

“I was trying to play nice, Ahab, but I really liked this suit.”

Lucy put her hands to her mouth as Flynn was sent flying back to crash into the wall and Tesla pushed himself to his feet.

He straightened his suit and flicked a claw over the two bloody holes in his shirt and waistcoat.

Tesla's voice sounded deeper as he asked with a half-growl: “Now what do I do with the two of you?”

Black eyes looked from Flynn to Lucy and back and she thought she saw very shark-like teeth in his mouth.

“What _are_ you?”, she finally managed to asked, her voice barely audible.

“ _Strigoi_ “, Flynn groaned as he struggled back to his feet. He had managed to keep hold of his gun and raised it again to point it at Tesla.

“Lucy, when I tell you to, run, and don't stop, don't wait for me, just run.”

“What? I don't understand...”, Lucy edged closer to Flynn instead, not wanting to leave him behind with whatever Tesla was, no matter what he said.

Tesla meanwhile just watched them with his expressionless black eyes.

“I promised someone who means a lot to me that I wouldn't kill humans, so if you two just forget what you saw and leave me alone now I won't have to break my promise.”

Flynn stepped in front of Lucy and didn't lower his gun.

“You know I can't do that. Rittenhouse with a time machine is bad enough but Rittenhouse with a... a _strigoi_...unthinkable.”

While Lucy watched Tesla's eyes returned to their usual blue and the claws slowly receded until his hands looked human once again.

“I am frankly insulted that you'd think I'd let myself be used by any organisation. You two, on the other hand, now know a dangerous secret about me, something that can not be allowed to become public knowledge.”

“I promise we wont tell anyone, Mr. Tesla.”, Lucy said, trying to defuse the situation. He voice was shaking and didn't quite project the sincerity she had aimed for. She tried to step out from behind Flynn but he merely pushed her back behind his tall form.

“Ah, but I do not know you, Snow White. All I know is that Tall-Dark-and-Heavily-Armed didn't have a problem with shooting me.”

Flynn scoffed.

“I should do more than shoot you, you're a monster.”

“That term gets used so much, do you even still know what it means? Wouldn't shooting an unarmed man in cold blood make you a monster as well?”

Flynn didn't seem to be in the mood for philosophical discussions because instead of answering he emptied the gun into Tesla's chest. He grabbed Lucy's wrist, shouted run, and dragged her out of the lab and towards the stairs. While they were hurrying down the staircase Lucy saw Flynn press a button on a small black device he pulled out of his pocket.

“Was that what I think it was?”, she asked , out of breath as they stumbled down the last few stairs.

“Most likely”, Flynn replied sharply as he pushed open the front door with so much force that it banged against the wall. They just managed to get to the other side of the street before Flynn cursed quietly in Croatian, pulled Lucy around in front of him and held her tight with both arms as she struggled to get away.

Behind them there was a sudden and deafening explosion and Lucy saw flying debris land on the pavement next to them. One or two pieces must have struck Flynn's back as he was shielding her because he tensed suddenly and swayed forward slightly.

When there were no more burning pieces of building raining down he finally let go of her and just as he started pulling her away again Lucy saw what was left of the building behind him going up in flames. She hoped that, given the late hour, no one else was inside.

“Come on, Lucy, we need to leave. I'll take you back with me in the Mothership.”

“But, Tesla, he's still in there.”

Since she really had no chance at all against Flynn's superior strength Lucy followed him down the street without protest.

“He's dead, hopefully.”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

“An explosion destroyed Tesla's lab late in the night from the 12th to the 13th of March 1895. The fire raged throughout the night, taking all of the building with it. The police think that the fire started in the offices of a company selling steam fitter's supplies on the ground floor. No exact cause for the explosion could ever be determined but foul play was suspected.”

Rufus looked away from the screen and shot Lucy a look that clearly said _No shit, Sherlock_. She had already told both him and Jiya what had happened in 1895 after Rufus had left with Wyatt and Rufus had used quite a few rather inventive expletives to describe his opinion of Flynn's problem solving strategies. When Lucy just shrugged in response to his look Rufus kept on reading:

“Tesla himself was too devastated by the loss to give much of an interview, all he said was ' _I am in too much grief to talk. What can I say?_ '. Crushed by the loss of the fruits of many years of labour, equipment worth thousands of dollars, and most of his notes Tesla fell victim to a strong depression which - and you can't tell me this isn't beyond badass - he treated with self-applied electro shock therapy. _'You see, electricity puts into the tired body just what it most needs – life force, nerve force. It's a great doctor, I can tell you, perhaps the greatest doctor of all.'_ After he got through his depression he moved to Houston Street and rebuilt his lab. No mentions of a time machine anywhere, not even a mention that he attempted to built one.”

Having finished his very condensed telling of the aftermath of “Hurricane Flynn” Rufus swiveled around in his chair to face Lucy.

“Seems you successfully stopped him from building a time machine, even though I do very much not approve of the methods.”

Lucy just shook her head, bewildered.

“But how could he have survived that? He was still in the lab when Flynn detonated that bomb. And he had been shot, too, repeatedly.”

Rufus just shrugged.

“I have no idea. Maybe he somehow managed to get out before the building blew up? Maybe Flynn's bullets missed?”

Jiya who had been looking over Rufus' other shoulder leaned forward and started typing rapidly.

“Or maybe he survived because he's a vampire.”, she said and pointed at the screen. “ _Strigoi_ , isn't that what you said Flynn called him? That's a kind of vampire myth found throughout Salvic countries.”

Lucy had already looked the word up herself but she just couldn't get herself to believe that there was such a thing as vampires. Rufus apparently had the same problem.

“No way, Tesla wasn't a vampire. Can't be. There is no such thing as vampires.”

Jiya kissed him on the cheek.

“More things between heaven and earth, Rufus. Would you believe in time travel if it wasn't your job to pilot a time machine?”

“But that's. That's...science! That's not even close to comparable. Vampires are...magic, supernatural, sparkling fairies in books for teenage girls! No way Tesla was a vampire!”

“Come on, you have to admit it would be really cool if he were. Who knows, he might even still be around?”

“Jiya!”

Lucy left them to their bickering with a tired smile. She'd head home, take a hot bath, get some sleep and then tomorrow she'd visit Wyatt in hospital. They were merely keeping him for observation, Rufus had said. They had apparently found very minor intracranial bleeding that didn't require surgery and they wanted to make sure it had stopped before they let him go home.

She was sure Wyatt was bored out of his mind and going on all the nurses nerves already so she guessed he'd welcome the distraction of getting mad about Flynn putting her in danger or something along those lines.

She was not going to give him Flynn's well-wishes, especially since she was sure they hadn't been even close to sincere. His smirk he been way too cheeky when he'd told her: “Tell your soldier to get well soon, who would I be dodging bullets from if he died?”

But Flynn had at least been true to his word and brought her back safely. He hadn't even insisted she stay and work with him but had merely dropped her off in town so she could make her own way to Mason Industries. Maybe, in time, she would be able to get through to him, to make him see that his way wasn't always the best and that maybe her way would yield better results.

Lucy scoffed at her own thoughts. _Yes, and maybe I can also bent iron bars with my bare hands_ , she thought wryly.

 

 

 

-02-28-20-17-TI-ME-LE-SS-

 

 

**Epilogue**

 

Alarms blaring made Flynn sit up with a start on the narrow cot in his cell. There were guards running along the corridor outside his door but since it didn't have a window, only a slot for passing food trays in and out, he couldn't even begin to fathom what had them acting like an ant hill that a nasty boy had stabbed with a stick.

Not that Flynn wasn't all in favour of someone stabbing Rittenhouse with a stick but he would prefer to know if this commotion might be to his advantage or disadvantage.

He heard a few shots of gunfire before the lights started to flicker then go out, plunging him into complete darkness. Even the alarm stopped and the sudden silence rang in his ears.

After a few seconds the emergency lights came on, seeming to create more shadow than light, but at least he could once again make out his surroundings.

Tying the sleeves of the hideous orange jump suit around his waist Flynn stepped closer to the door. There was still a bit of a commotion going on outside but it sounded farther away.

Suddenly there was the sound of a key in the lock and Flynn hastily took a few steps back and, setting his feet slightly apart and lifting his fists to chest height, he got ready to tackle whoever might be on the other side.

But apparently they had expected him to do just that because they stayed behind the door, never presenting a target.

“Well, what are you waiting for, a formal invitation? They monkey in a uniform I 'borrowed' this key from might come looking for it any minute.”

Flynn knew that voice, he'd heard it only a few weeks ago. But it couldn't be...

“If you'd rather stay here, Doom-and-Gloom, I'll just lock you back in.”

The face that shot him an impatient look around the side of the door was as familiar as the voice, even though it was missing a moustache and the hair was rather a bit more unkept.

“Tesla!?”, Flynn asked incredulously and unconsciously let his arms drop.

“The one and only, and even though I am aware that I often leave people speechless this is hardly the time and place.”

Tesla finally stepped around the door and into the cell. He grabbed the still rather shell shocked Flynn by the arm and pulled him out into the corridor.

“Now, I am sure Helen and the children can deal with a few armed guards but I'd prefer we didn't spent more time in this place than strictly necessary. They might bring in reinforcements.”

They reached another locked door made out of sturdy metal. Tesla pulled out the key again that he had used to open Flynn's cell and tried it on this new obstacle. It didn't turn.

“Well, I assume we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way then.”

Pushing Flynn back and against the wall Tesla positioned himself in front off the door, made some very over-the-top dramatic hand waving gestures and suddenly the door flew open and banged against the wall. On the other side of it were three very startled men with rather big guns.

“Oops, wrong door.” Tesla said and with a cheerful wave slammed the door shut again just as the guards got over their surprise and opened fire. While the bullets still struck the door Tesla twisted his hand again and did something to the hinges that had them groaning in protest.

“Ok, then. I guess we'll better take the alternative rout. I hope you're not afraid of tight spaces, or rats.”

Flynn was still staring at the door.

“How...What...?”

“No time for explanations right now, my trigger-happy friend. I'd suggest less dumbfound staring and more running. Oh, and you still owe me a new suit and, I suspect, a new lab. We shall have words about that later, when things are less bullet-ridden.”

And Tesla grabbed Flynn's arm again to pull him down the corridor back the way they'd come.

They passed Flynn's cell and kept going. There was no sound of gunfire ahead but Flynn heard once again the sound of running feet, approaching fast.

Tesla didn't slow down or seem worried so Flynn just decided to play along. It couldn't be worse than being locked in a cell and after all, Tesla was in front of him, so if anything happened it would happen to him first and give Flynn time to duck.

As they rounded the next corner they found themselves face to face with two women and a man, all three of them holding very strange looking guns.

“I'd say you're going the wrong way, genius” ,the man remarked with a smug grin at Tesla.

“Well, unless you want to try getting through a door that's got three armed men ready to riddle you with bullets, I'd say _you're_ going the wrong way, _Huggy Bear_.”

“That's quite enough, gentlemen.”, the older of the two women said. “Reserve your posturing for when we're back at the Sanctuary. So it seems we'll be taking the sewers after all?”

Tesla pulled a face.

“So it would seem, Helen, dear. Why do we always end up in such filthy and uncomfortable places? Can't we for once rescue someone from, I don't know, a nice hotel in Paris? Or maybe forget about the rescuing, just you and me and a hotel room in Paris, or Vienna?”

The grin on his face was very close to lecherous and the answering glare from the woman more than half amused.

“Focus, Nikola!”

Her words were chiding but the smile that followed them was fond. The man and the other woman rolled their eyes with long-suffering looks that told Flynn that this was apparently a regular occurrence.

“This way then.”

They started running farther along the corridor and then down a flight of stairs. The second woman was talking into some kind of high tech walkie talkie, informing whoever was on the other end of their change of plans.

The sewers were indeed narrow, filthy, and uncomfortable but they led them out next to a river. Up on the bank another man was impatiently looking out the open driver's side window of a van, his fingers drumming against the outside of the door nervously.

“Finally, we need to hurry, guys, they will know you took that way out and I am sure they're already on their way.”

“I'm sorry for making you wait, Henry, we ran into some...complications.”

“Don't we always...?”, the guy behind the wheel mumbled while cranking up the window.

They all piled into the back of the van and the second they closed the door the driver took off like a bat out of hell.

“Now can someone finally tell me who you people are and what's going on?”, Flynn said, still very much out of breath. He wryly realised hat he should maybe have asked that _before_ getting into an unmarked van with a group of strangers. Oh well, it couldn't be worse than being stuck in a cell at a high security prison.

“Yes, of course, Mr. Flynn. I fear during a prison break there is hardly a time for introductions, so you'll forgive us our rudeness. My name is Dr. Helen Magnus and I would very much like to offer you my help. You see, Nikola and I, we have a bit of experience dealing with nefarious clandestine organisations and I think it is about time someone put Rittenhouse in their place, don't you agree?”

 

 

~The End~

 

... or is it?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lo and behold I have actually finished one of my WIP ;)  
> I have tried to be as historically accurate about Tesla as one can be when writing about the Sanctuary version.  
> There actually was a fire that destroyed his lab in the wee small hours of March 13th 1895 and sent the poor guy into heavy depression which he did treat with electro shock therapy (which by the way is nothing like they portrait it in Hollywood and is still used effectively to treat depression that's not responding to medication). The fire wasn't caused by a bomb or a time travelling trigger-happy ex-NSA-asset, though, as far as we know ;) I think the official cause was a forgotten candle?  
> Any ideas about Tesla having built a time machine are only speculative though ;) But really, it kind of sounds like something he would do LOL  
> Anyway, history lesson over. Thank you so much for reading and I'd greatly appreciate to hear what you thought of the fic. Comments feed the muses :)


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